Four Aussie actors dumped as US TV shows axed

The ruthless US television industry has claimed four more Aussie scalps, writes Michael Idato in Los Angeles.

Hollywood is a tough town. After a new season launch that seemed peppered with Australian actors, the US network ABC has axed two shows and in a single swoop put four Australian actors out of work.

The two axed shows are Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue.

Last Resort, which was filmed in Hawaii, is an action drama about a US submarine crew who go rogue and set up fort on a small island. It starred three Aussie actors: Daisy Betts, Daniel Lissing and Dichen Lachman.

666 Park Avenue, which was filmed in New York, is a Rosemary's Baby-style horror series and starred high-profile Australian actress Rachael Taylor.

Last Resort had been touted by Channel Seven as one of its major US program acquisitions for the 2013 television season at its sales event last month.

Because Seven had not yet started airing Last Resort, it can effectively abandon the show and not be left out of pocket. US studio content deals do not impose a cost on networks which buy shows if the show does not go past 13 episodes before the network has started airing it.

666 Park Avenue was already airing on Foxtel, fast-tracked as part of its "Express from the US" program offering.

Both shows were underperforming for the US network ABC.

They will both complete an initial order of 13 episodes but will not get "picked up for the back nine" - industry jargon for the balance of episodes needed to make up a season of 22 episodes.

Last Resort, which was created by The Shield's writer, Shawn Ryan, was averaging around 7.3 million viewers but had slipped to 5.8 million viewers.

666 Park Avenue was averaging only five million viewers and had slipped to around four million viewers.

Of the two shows, the decision to cancel Last Resort is the more surprising, as the series was performing reasonably well, but was not delivering strong demographics and, for ABC, which is a female-skewing network, was slightly off-brand.

The timing is actually good for the four Australian actors. Casting for the US "pilot season" is underway, for the new crop of pilot episodes which will be filmed in Los Angeles in January and February and screened to international programmers next May.

Had the two series finished their first season and been cancelled, the four would have missed an opportunity to audition for new pilots for 2013.

With a high-profile launch behind them, Betts, Lissing and Lachman will likely land pilots. Taylor, who has also starred in several series including the high-profile remake of Charlie's Angels, has a well established profile and will also likely land a new pilot for 2013.